Intro to the S.O.A.R.: Bringing Inclusive Excellence ...
Transcript of Intro to the S.O.A.R.: Bringing Inclusive Excellence ...
Intro to the S.O.A.R.:
Bringing Inclusive Excellence
within reach
• Introductions
• Context for IE Action Plans
• Community Agreements
• Key Vocabulary
• IE Framework Exercise
• Intro to SOAR
• Next Steps
Community
Agreements
No one knows
everything but together
we know a lot
Your attitude has a big
impact on your
experience
Expect and Accept
Mistakes
Don’t be afraid to be
wrong
Learn from what you
don’t know
Be honest, but
recognize that safety
and trust are
important
Experience
discomfort
Speak from your own
experience
Share the stories, but not the people –
confidentiality
Take care of yourself and know that some
things may come up later that you’ll
experience and may need to seek support
People are different levels of knowing about
inclusive excellence, give grace to one
another and look for ways that we can help
each other in our learning
Make space and take space
Community
Agreements
Key Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Diversity is defined as “individual differences (e.g., personality,
prior knowledge, and life experiences) and group/social
differences (e.g., race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual
orientation, country of origin, and ability as well as cultural,
political, religious, or other affiliations.)
Equity: is defined as “the creation of opportunities for
historically underrepresented populations to have access to
and participate in educational programs that are capable of
closing the achievement gaps in student success and
completion.”
Inclusion: Inclusion is a practice that we encourage in every
aspect of our college. It is defined as “the active, intentional,
and ongoing engagement with diversity”
Vocabulary
Inclusive Excellence: The action of making excellence
inclusive requires that we uncover inequities in student success,
identify effective educational practices, and build such practices
organically for sustained institutional change. Inclusive
Excellence calls for a vital transformation of our institution by
embedding and institutionalizing equitable and inclusive
practices in every effort, aspect, and level of our college.
Access: In education, the term access typically refers to the
ways in which educational institutions and policies ensure—or at
least strive to ensure—that students have equal and equitable
opportunities to take full advantage of their education.
Increasing access generally requires schools to provide
additional services or remove any actual or potential barriers
that might prevent some students from equitable participation in
certain courses or academic programs.
:
Vocabulary
Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions,
values, and beliefs, which govern how people behave in
organizations. These shared values have a strong influence
on the people in the organization and dictate the boundaries
and guidelines for engagement within the organization.
Organizational climate is the process of quantifying the
culture of an organization. It is defined by how members of
an organization experience the culture of the organization.
Vocabulary
Historically Underrepresented and Disenfranchised in
higher education: People who have historically been denied
access to institutions of higher education. When historically
underrepresented populations have been given access, they
continued to experience inadequate representation and have
been denied privileges within the institutions of higher
education.
Intercultural Knowledge and Competence is "a set of
cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that
support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of
cultural contexts.”
Cultural humility is the “ability to maintain an interpersonal
stance that is other-oriented (or open to the other) in relation to
aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the
[person]”
.
Address the
False
Narratives
• Who’s here?
• Who’s missing?
• Why are they
missing?
• What opportunities
are we creating for
increased access
and success?
• More than mitigating
overt/covert acts of
discrimination and
prejudice
• Appreciating the
authenticity of
community members
• Intentionally engaging
members of our
marginalized identity
groups
• Symbols that reinforce
a place of welcome
and belonging
How are we
Intentionally
Creating a
Culture of
Belonging?
• Expectations of
professional
development and
training opportunities
• Onboarding
(Institutionally &
Divisionally)
• Leadership
development
(students &
professionals)
Capacity
Building of
Students,
Faculty, and
Staff humility
• Culturally responsive
teaching
• Culturally engaging
co-curricular activities
• Service Learning and
Study Abroad
opportunities
• Intentional support of
historically
marginalized identity
groups
Engaging DEI
in and out of
the classroom
Why the
S.O.A.R.
Analysis?
Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results
• Focused on current strengths and vision for the
future
• Action oriented and focused on outcomes
S.O.A.R. Matrix
Strengths
What are our greatest strengths in advancing
inclusive excellence?
What does the division (or unit) do well, along with its
key assets, resources, capabilities, and
accomplishments?
Sample question prompts:
• What are our greatest accomplishments?
• What are we most proud of?
• What makes us unique?
• What do we provide that is exceptional?
• What strengths are most valuable in our division?
• What do we do or have that’s better than anyone
else?
Opportunities
What are our best opportunities for advancing
inclusive excellence?
Consider circumstances that your team could leverage
for success.
Sample question prompts:
• What partnerships would lead to greater success?
• What changes and trends align with our strengths?
• What threats do we see that we could reframe as
opportunities?
• What needs and wants are we currently not fulfilling
for our current and prospective community
members?
• Are there gaps across the college that we could fill?
Aspirations
What is our preferred future for inclusive excellence
within our division (or unit)?
Reflect on who you want to become as a team and what
you want to achieve in the future for IE.
Sample question prompts:
• What do we want to achieve in the future?
• What should our future division look like and how
should it operate?
• How can we make a difference within our
community?
• What are we passionate about?
• What strategies and actions support our perfect
future self?
Results
What outcomes are needed to reach our aspirations
for inclusive excellence within our division (or
unit)?
Tangible outcomes and measures that demonstrate
you’ve achieved your goals and aspirations.
What are the measurable results that will tell us we’ve
achieved our vision of the future?
Sample question prompts:
• How do we translate our vision of success into
tangible outcomes?
• What measures will tell us we are on track to
achieve success?
• How do we know when we’ve achieved our goals?
EXERCISE
On the team(s) I lead or participate in, what
are our greatest strengths in advancing
inclusive excellence?
What does the division (or unit) do well, along
with its key assets, resources, capabilities, and
accomplishments?
Sample question prompts:
• What are our greatest accomplishments?
• What are we most proud of?
• What makes us unique?
• What do we provide that is exceptional?
• What strengths are most valuable in our
division?
• What do we do or have that’s better than
anyone else?
Divisional
Plans for
Inclusive
Excellence
Process
1. Develop a S.O.A.R analysis process that meets the
needs of your division (Centralized plan,
Decentralized plans, or Both?)
2. Consider a process for how we might engage across
each division to involve as many voices as possible
3. Rank the results from the S.O.A.R to identify which
areas are most critical
4. Using the IE Framework, choose a set of 1 year and 3
year goals with measurable results
5. Consultation will be provided for teams to discuss
their plans
6. Plans will be collected and shared with the campus
community and externally
7. Progress will be reported quarterly and annually
Timeline
JULY-SEPTEMBER
• Begin offering SOAR Orientation workshops for each division
• Divisions conduct their SOAR analysis and begin developing
strategic goals, objectives, strategies and measurable
indicators
• Senior Leaders review plans to identify areas of collaboration
and opportunities for leveraging resources
• Refine IE plans
EARLY OCTOBER
• Share IE plans with campus community and begin
implementation